Based on a lot of positive comments I'm going to try thr K&K pure western min in my Mahog/Adi CJ. I have a M1A in anothher guitar that I was thinking of wiring in (removeable) for louder settings (M1A back through the monitors, both out through the mains).

I know Tom Petty is using the I-Beam/M1 combo Baggs sells in all of his old Gibsons so I guess the idea is valid, just curious what you guys have found.

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: dberch,

If you play at Tom Petty volumes, maybe that's helpful. I play small clubs (less than 200 folks) with nothin' but a pure western mini, and have seen no reason to complicate matters. imho.

Sounds like the K&K are a lot more feedback resistant than the I-Beam I've been using. The I-Beam can sound great but at drummer volumes have probelms with feedback.

Don't play at Tom Petty volumes - not enough hair for that anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by sonoman:
If you play at Tom Petty volumes, maybe that's helpful. I play small clubs (less than 200 folks) with nothin' but a pure western mini, and have seen no reason to complicate matters. imho.

+1. I've played many times with a 4-piece including drums and bass with my K&K equiped guitars. And solo for up to 450 people drinking and eating. The OM shines. The Dread does occasinoally get low register feedback. It can usually be controlled with a Preamp that has Phase reversing and a cut at around 200K on the mixer. I would think your CJ would be fine.

I've recently installed a D-Tar Wavelength in that same dread (D1A) and after one show will say it is nearly as good sounding as the K&K with FAR more signal strength and resistance to feedback.

Update on the Wavelength (Jan '08): I had it for a year and have gone back to K&K in my D1A. In a nutshell - I missed the K&K tone, and I DID get low register feedback with the Wavelength on a few occasions.

Good luck!
David

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dberch,

I have dual sourced the K&K with a Sunrise, and also with a Fishman Rare Earth. I did it for feedback control and also to get some of the attack that a magnetic PU can give (especially with a pick). Both worked well for that, and assume the M1 would too.

I agree that the K&K's sound really great, very microphonic, but I also agree that they can give some low-end feedback. At least I have had some in cerrtain situations. I wouldn't use one personally in a higher volume/full-rockin' band situation. But the tone is great.

Thanks for the input - the guitar sounds, well, just like the guitar with the K&K. It will go out for a test drive and if I have feedbcak problems the M1A gets wired into the stereo jack.

I tend to like the magnetics for high volume situations - I even had my Sunrises feedback in the right settings in the past! I saw Vince Gill the other night using a mahogany OM or 000 with a M1(A?) the other night on the Grand 'Ol Oprey - don't know if he was using another source (they have a lot of mics on that stage) but he sounded great.

hey john,
did you ever dual source the M1 with the K&K afterall? curious. still loving the k&k, but recently gigged with a guy who had an M1 in a vintage Gibson AJ (through a sans amp DI), and the thing sounded ballsy as all get out (in a richard thompson kind of way)...but still woody. not quite the pure-ness of the k&k, but definitely not a sacrifice in tone. it had more attack than my rare earth (which is nice). I've owned the sunrise, and it's never quite done it for me, though I've heard it sound great for others. Let me know...

My experience with magnetic pickups, even the best ones like Sunrise and M1 Baggs is that they make every guitar sound like a Sunrise or an M1. One of the strengths of the K&K is that they sound very much like the guitar they're in. We tested 'em, with my wife, who's been listening to me for 38 years, and my son, who's a musician and a sound engineer, and the three guitars, which could not be more different (C10 maple/adi, OM1 koa/sitka, and CJA EIR/adi) and they sounded absolutely different, just as they did in the room. As far as feedback, I play in one group with another acoustic, a full drum kit, an electric bass, three singers, and me, and I have yet to have any significant feedback. The little there's been could be eq'ed out with very minor knob twiddling and no loss of tone quality. We play bars, restaurants, outdoor parties, weddings, and an annual backyard fundraiser (for us) for 300 people. Maybe I'm just lucky, or have an unusually light right hand attack (which is possible), but I think it's the pickup. Love 'em.

Wow, surprised to see this thread is still kicking.

Scott - I've been using the K&K's in both my CJMhA and my Composite Acoustics Bluegrass for awhile now and they are great pickups, best I've used. I agree wholeheartedly with Sonoman that the guitars sound like themselves with the K&K's. That being said, when it comes to cutting through a band mix, the mag's add some oomph that can really give the guitar some body. I use the same M1 active in either guitar and the DON'T sound exactly the same - the pickup is microphonic enough, some of the guitars character comes through, although nowhere near as much so as the K&K's. The combo of the mag and the K&K is excellent, and I can get the guitar to sound huge by using subtle effects on one signal (typically the mag) leaving the other dry. The K&K alone is fantastic in quieter settings. I would use the M1 alone without hesitation - it's a great pickup. I used Sunrise pickup for YEARS - honestly, all mystique and mythology aside, I like the M1 better.

Just an aside - The recent National/Lace stick-on magnetic pickup VERY much picks up the character of the guitar. I stuck it in the middle position of an electric archtop and it sounded a lot like the TV Jones pickups in the guitar, just a little less coloration and output. The same pickup on my National sounds very reso indeed. It's a great tool that has a lot of possible applications. I think the bias against magnetics is becoming outdated as these pickups are being designed with controlled microphonic characteristics that let them sound more natural. No, they aren't condenser mics, but they are very musical none the less.